Author Archives: complexified

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Apple, Verizon, and Customer Service

Like many people today, I own and use a variety of portable computing devices.  For the past two years, I have had an Apple iPhone 4, which I got on the first day they were offered by my wireless provider, … Continue reading

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Quality in Government: Answers, Questions, and the “AS IF…” to “BOTH…AND…” Challenge

Hi again, to all interested in process and organizational improvement.  After a personal leave from the blogosphere, I am back with my fellow ASQ “Voices of Influence.”  In this post, I am playing a bit of “catch-up.”  This post responds … Continue reading

Posted in Adaptive Capacity, ASQ, Change, Complexity, Continuous Process Improvement, Government Improvement, Quality | 1 Comment

Adaptive Behavior and Regulatory Compliance

From 1976 to 2002, I worked as a Compliance Specialist for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.  In that capacity, I enforced about 80 different laws, including Federal minimum wage, overtime, child labor, migrant farm labor, family … Continue reading

Posted in Adaptive Capacity, Change, Complexity, Continuous Process Improvement, Government Improvement | 1 Comment

Adaptive Organizations: Towards Mastery in the Moment

The highly-regarded Altimeter Group has asked on their website, for comments about Adaptive Organizations.  Let’s take a look at what this means, and why developing greater adaptive capacity is important for organizations.   Adaptive means able to change in response … Continue reading

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Complexity and Substance Abuse Prevention: Are you SPF-y Enough?

In my two preceding posts, I began to explore and explain the truly complex nature of behavioral health, and the implications of a complex systems perspective on the applicability of Evidence-Based Practices.  In this post, I want to take a … Continue reading

Posted in Behavioral Health, Change, Community, Complexity, Dialogue | 1 Comment

Complexity and Behavioral Health: Complex, not Complicated

In my previous post, I began to explore the limits of Evidence-Based Practice in behavioral health.  My thinking about this evolved during my tenure as SAMHSA’s Senior Advisor for Process Improvement.  My own background was not in behavioral health, but … Continue reading

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Complexity and Behavioral Health: EBP and PBE

Three years ago I went to work as a Senior Advisor at SAMHSA, the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  My job was to oversee process improvement efforts at the agency responsible for giving out $3billion a year … Continue reading

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Complexity and Community School Psych – Workshop Notes

  COMPLEXITY NOTES FOR WORKSHOP WITH DOCTORAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL PSYCH STUDENTS …WHAT KINDS OF PROCESSES DO WE WANT TO IMPROVE? …HOW DO WE IMPROVE PROCESSES AND RESULTS? …WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN CHANGE OR IMPROVEMENT? —BRIEF STORY IF CHANGE … Continue reading

Posted in Change, Community, Complexity, Dialogue, Education | Leave a comment

The People Speak, the Leaders Listen

A few weeks ago I traveled to Washington, D.C. to serve as a facilitator at a unique event.  The Mayor had convened an event for citizens throughout the District to envision future policy and outcomes as part of his “One … Continue reading

Posted in Change, Community, Complexity, Dialogue, Government Improvement, Networks, Social Responsibility | Leave a comment

How F.A.R. is Your Leadership?

In a recent exchange on Twitter, I was asked about my use of the Cynefin Framework.  For the uninitiated, this is a way of thinking about and making sense of different types of challenges in organizations.  The Cynefin Framework has … Continue reading

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